Andy Cohen: We’ve discussed creating a gay ‘Real Housewives’ franchise
Cohen said the long-running Bravo franchise almost cast "several lesbians"
Andy Cohen has teased the possibility of a gay spin-off of long-running reality series The Real Housewives.
Cohen, who executive produces the various franchises, said that Real Housewives almost had a lesbian-focused spoin-off, and producers remained “open” to a queer Housewives.
Appearing on podcast Going to Bed with Garcelle, hosted by Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais, Cohen was asked by Beauvais if they had “ever thought about having a gay franchise?”
“We’ve talked about that,” the 52-year-old Cohen replied, according to People. “It was something that we were really into many years ago. We’ve almost cast several lesbians.”
As for gay men, Cohen said, “It’s ultimately a show about women, which is why the guys have always been in the background, like, the husbands have typically been more in the background.”
He added: “And so I think the answer is we’ve been open to it. We almost cast a guy on [The Real Housewives of New Jersey] who was Dina Manzo’s brother and Caroline’s brother as the first gay Housewife.
“This was years ago. This was like, 2008 or nine or something like that. But we wound up just not doing it.”
Cohen, who also hosts Bravo’s late night talk show Watch What Happens Live, said he’s not opposed to a gay Real Housewives — but fans probably shouldn’t hold their breath. “If the right person smacked me in the face, yeah,” he said.
The Real Housewives of Orange County technically stars the first lesbian Housewife, with Braunwyn Windham-Burke coming out as a lesbian in December 2020.
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